Friday, 4 December 2009

All was peace tonight at beach hut 177 although those who came along were confronted by a slightly strange sight. There is always music at our daily openings as each hut owner chooses a Christmas carol on which to base their design and we play different versions of that carol throughout the evening.

But tonight was a bit different - tonight anyone coming along would have seen the crowd around the hut moving in time together but in total silence, as though they were being rocked by some invisible force.

This was the Advent silent disco and the carol to go with this?........Silent Night of course.

A silent disco works by having a small radio transmitter playing the music to sets of wireless headphones which everyone wears so that they get their own personal experience of the music. There were two different channels to listen to tonight, one full of funky, upbeat Christmas tunes and the other with quiet versions of Silent Night.It was quite interesting watching people and trying to work out which music track they were listening to, although fairly easy to work out once they started dancing. Every one joined in, not only because it was fun, but also because the headphones kept our ears warm on a cold and slightly rainy night.

The hut decoration had a real beach theme to it as Sam had carpeted her hut in pebbles and created a massive choir of peg people who all looked like they were waiting to join in at any moment.

This was a wonderfully inventive evening which gave everyone a chance to try something that perhaps they hadn't tried before with great success. Perhaps we should introduce silent sections to our worship in church so that we get a chance for personal reflection as part of the music whilst it still being a communal act?

Tomorrow we're at hut 225 just next to the Babylon lounge when we'll be having a real family evening.